Friday, January 22, 2016

Greetings! It has been over two years since this blog was updated. I debated several times whether or not to resurrect this blog, but since it was pretty popular back in its heyday, I decided to give it a whirl. Plus, Martha Beth deserves to be immortalized on this site too. Maybe one day I'll share a full update on all that has taken place in the last two years, but for now, let me just update you on our sweet second daughter.Martha Elizabeth Cook was born on December 22, 2015. We didn't intend to have a Christmas baby -- we meant to have an April baby. But apparently we are still pretty fertile (which is not lost on us since we plan to be done with babies now that we have 2). We plan to call her Martha Beth. She is named after three of her great-grandmothers (don't worry, I am named after the fourth one). Her older sister is doing very well with the adjustment, and we could not be more proud. Their resemblance is uncanny. When Martha Beth was born, I truly thought, "This is the baby I had 4 years ago. Where's the new baby?" So far, Martha Beth is taking it pretty easy on us. Our biggest adjustment right now is transitioning her from the "Rock and Play" sleeper to her crib. We transitioned Susan at 4 weeks, and it was easy. We just swaddled her in a Halo Sleepsack, and that was it. Well, Martha Beth is having a little more trouble. I found these helpful tips on how to transition here, and we are trying them. Her crib is propped and we put the RNP insert in the crib. She has been sleeping in a sleepsack the whole time so that isn't an adjustment. We want to transition her before she sleeps through the night, and we think (hope) she is getting close.

So the set up is a little whacky

Propped with books

Sleeping swaddled in her crib like a champ - she actually did really well last night! Now we just need naps to improve...

Before I give you the stats, I will say second-time parenthood, especially during these early stages of babyhood, is 9 million times more enjoyable than it was the first time. We are not nearly as neurotic; I know that eventually this exhausted feeling will fade away, and dear goodness, if she gets off her routine a little, she will survive! I enjoyed Susan's babyhood, but not like I am enjoying this. The other night, I had my first evening alone with both girls. Martha Beth was a little fussy and it was time to read Susan her bedtime story. Martha Beth was in her bouncy seat so when she wouldn't calm down, I picked up the bouncy seat, walked it to our bathroom, turned on the fan and shut the door. I told her she would have to figure it out for ten minutes. When I came back after reading The Lorax and singing to big sis, Martha Beth was fine. I NEVER would have done that with Susan, but the thing is, with the second kiddo, I knew that she would be fine and I have another kid who needs me. So without further narrative, here are Martha Beth's stats at 1 month.Weight: 11 lbs 2 oz.Height: 22.25 inchesNext Appointment: 2/23 for her two-month check-up and first round of vaccinesTeeth: None!Bottle: 6 bottles of about 5 to 5.5 oz. each. She is currently in a growth spurt and is draining them dry. We are using Enfamil Gentlease with this one and will switch her to Parents Choice Gentle (the Walmart generic version) when I run out of Enfamil coupons.Clothing: 3 months and she is really starting to fill out the 3-month stuff.Diaper Size: Size 1. She was in newborns for about two weeks which is what I predicted (and why we only bought one box).Sleeping: At night, she lays down around 9:30 but sometimes doesn't fall asleep until 10 or 10:30. She sleeps until we wake her up at 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to eat. She goes right back to sleep after both feedings and then sleeps until her first real bottle of the day at 9 a.m. We got the go-ahead from the doctor to stop waking her up and let her wake up on her own and tell us when she is hungry. This is why we are in "Crib or Bust" mode because most nights, we do have to wake her for the feedings and now that she is getting so big, I know it won't be long until she doesn't wake up. Naps are a little trickier. Her afternoon nap can be touch-and-go, as can her evening nap. I am hoping that once she gets used to the crib, naps will improve.Favorite Toys: She loves the homemade black and white "flashcards" that Chris made for her. They are her favorite thing to look at when she plays on her tummy and back.Likes: She loves to eat and snuggle on your chest afterwards. She also loves to look for and listen to her sister. She likes her Avent Soothie, although in the last few days, she has also enjoyed sucking on her Mam pacifier.Dislikes: She doesn't love her crib so far, or at least her naps aren't great in there. But naps haven't been great in her Rock and Play either, so there really isn't any way to tell for sure. Hopefully, by the end of Snowmageddon 2016, she will be fully transitioned into her crib and love it just as much as her sister did.Milestones: We haven't really hit any big milestones yet, but she does have pretty good control of her head and neck. She doesn't mind playing on her tummy for tummy time and is good about telling us when she is tired of it. I think our first big milestone will be sleeping through the night...then Chris and I can crack open that champagne I bought for New Years (like we were going to make it til midnight - ha!)
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